1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hinge mechanism for air cleaner used in vehicles.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a conventional technique, there is provided an air cleaner for vehicles has a hinge which enables a casing and a cover, both of which constitutes a housing, to be detachable on one sides thereof so that the cover can be freely opened or closed against the casing.
For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-247923, which is hereby incorporated by reference, discloses an air cleaner comprising a first housing and a second housing, in which a seal member is attached to a joint face of the first housing and the second housing, and a filter element is contained in the first housing. In the air cleaner, a hinge has a first engagement part provided at the first housing and a second engagement part which is engaged with the first engagement part and provided at the second housing, the engagement parts being formed on one sides of the first and second housing.
In this hinge, a first guide part and a second guide part are formed in the vicinity of the first engagement part and the second engagement part respectively of the first housing and the second housing. A third guide part and a fourth guide part are formed interposing a space respectively from the first engagement part and the second engagement part in a direction parallel to the direction of the above-mentioned engaging movement of the second housing. These four guide parts are shaped so that engaging movement of the second housing is guided while preventing the edge of a sealed face from interfering with a seal member during engaging movement to thereby elastically deform the seal member in a seal-impairment condition and so that the seal member can be adhered to the sealed face in a state where the first engaging part is engaged with the second engaging part.
However, since the air cleaner is subjected to vibration at all times and repeatedly opened or closed, each engaging part in the above-mentioned conventional hinge becomes worn. For this reason, there is a disadvantage that an interference of the seal member is decreased, and sealing performance is deteriorated.
To solve the disadvantage, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-145550, which is hereby incorporated by reference, there is provided an air cleaner including a hinge shaft formed at one of a pair of cases, which is engaged with a claw formed at the other of the pair of cases, so that the pair of cases are combined to be freely openable/closable and a device for pressing the claw against the hinge shaft in the direction of fastening a packing.
The present invention is provided to further improve anti-vibration performance and workability in assembly with respect to the invention disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-145550.